The Beginning of the End

Pre-season football marks the beginning of Kirk's senior year in high school. Yesterday was equipment distribution with seniors getting first pick. Kirk went straight for the new, light weight shoulder pads. The first thing he did when he got home was try them on and check himself out infront of the hall mirror. I think he was pretty pleased with what he saw.

Equipment in hand, today was the first practice. The first day of Two-a-Days. You can see how enthusiastic Kirk was to get up this morning when his alarm clock went off at 6:30 am on a hot day in July.

Tree Fall Down, Go BOOM!

Actually, three trees fell. We had brutal storms tonight while Brian and I were at a Football Parent's meeting. Kirk called on Brian's cell to tell us the basketball hoop was down and there was a tree covering up half the driveway. We weren't sure what that meant until we got home to see the distruction. We are feeling blessed that it missed the stained glass window and A/C unit. Neighbors lost gutters and wrought iron fencing was crushed.

Once our neighbors helped us clear the driveway, we noticed one of the trees still standing had a large crack in it. It was anyone's guess which way it was going to fall...and it was going to fall. With every breeze, it would sway and audibly crack some more. We were blessed again to find a tree surgeon who came out in the dark with a cherry picker (these trees are four plus stories high), tied off the tree and took the tree down below the crack in three giant sections. We slept better knowing the house was no longer in danger. It was so ready to go that he didn't even want us in the driveway until he got it down.

Brian discovered his chain saw needs sharpening, but I think it's going to take some professional help to get the mess cleaned up. Another piece of good news was that three of our neighbors and we reached an agreement with our builder to put in a French drain where our backyards (and sump pumps) meet. We have had a swamp out there for two years. The drain went in this morning, before the storm hit. I'm thrilled to say it's working beautifully. No standing water...just tree debris.

A Week at the Beach!

We just spent a week at one of our favorite family places, Pajaro Dunes, just north of Monterey, California. More pics to come...gotta go unpack first.

Oh My Achin' Legs...and Back...and Feet or A Room Makeover for Danielle

Day 1

Measured walls and painted horizontal white stripes all the way around the room.


Day 2





Taped off the white stripes with a level and painted two coats of two colors. They were the easy ones which didn't require a lot of cutting in. Still, at the end of day two, my body is complaining more than when I did this sort of thing in previous houses. Dani will be grateful, right?

Day 3 Cut in and painted the lightest stripe along the ceiling.

Day 4 Cut in and painted the darkest stripe along the floor. This was the hardest because it meant laying on the floor and leaning at weird angles.

Day 5 Dani drew dots with different size plates and I began painting the colored dots. I was really afraid it would look like a carnival, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how "fun" it looked rather than tacky. It really fits Dani's personality. She worked on a few dots too. I was limited by the number of paint brushes I own as to how many colors I could paint per day. Orange, yellow and dark pink today. Most of them took three coats to cover the blue and white stripes.

Day 6 Light pink, purple, and green.

Day 7 Cleaning and more cleaning! More coats of more colors

Day 8 More cleaning. Dani has removed three yard size trash bags from her room of either trash or Goodwill. I wanted to give her a fun room for high school and she's taken my cue to clear out the little girl stuff that isn't sentimental enough to put in storage. Her doll collection and favorite stuffed animals haven't gone far, however, they're perched in her closet. Not ready for the basement just yet.

Day 9 Will this room ever be done? Apparently Sherwin Williams didn't shake the orange paint enough. I was left with yellow base when I go to the bottom of the can. It totally runined the 3' dot that was supposed to have Danielle's name in 8" vinyl letters. Now I have to get new paint and redo it. Brian tells me itisn't really round. *sigh* Maybe I can fix it.

Day 10 Finally got around to getting another quart of the Navel Orange paint and fixed the "name dot". With her name on it, and the curtains up, Danielle's room is officially DONE! As is happens in the middle of this process, she decided to rearrange the furniture and now her hutch is infront of the name dot anyway. *sigh* It's okay, she'll change it around again and it will be waiting.

50 States in 50 Years

On our quest to travel to 50 States in 50 years, our 20th anniversary found us in Ann Arbor, Michigan, not far from the University of Michigan. We stayed at the Marriott and enjoyed sleeping late, eating out, movies and some of the local history. It's wonderful to have some time together without responsibility pulling and tugging for our attention. We love finding those things and places that only the locals know, that are one of a kind in the country. This year on the recommandation of Tyler and Audrey Tiberius (best friends of my little brother Dave) we found Zingerman's Deli.

It was awesome! I haven't walked into a deli with that kind of wonderful bread since I lived in the Bay Area.

They actually had the gall to claim their sourdough bread was better than San Fransico. *gasp* No matter how good it is, I haven't found anywhere but San Fransico that makes extra sourdough bread, which any native knows is the only sourdough.

We highly recommend eating there if you're ever in the neighborhood. We were thrilled to discover they ship things all over the country. (Check out links to Zingerman's and Tiberius Arms in my Sites to Surf.) Don't be surprised if you get something from Zingerman's for Christmas this year.

An Afternoon on the Farm

Today Dave and I drove Mom and Dad up to Maryland to catch their fight home. Dad was sure security would be impossibly long so close to the captial. He asked that we drop them THREE HOURS ahead of thier flight. Having lost two hours of the time we planned to spend in D.C., you could say that our tour was drastically abbreviated. Our "tour" went something like this:

"Look, there....that's the White House."

"Where?"

"Never mind, you missed it."

On the way home, Dave and I stopped at Sara Palmer's home. Sara is Brian's cousin. She lives on a 326 acre farm in a three bedroom home built into the side of a hill. It was originally built in the 1750's and has been rennovated over the years. You can still see the original hearth in what used to be the kitchen and is now the familyroom.

Sara's father was a landscape architect and bought the property for an English Yew tree supposed to be at least 200 years old. Sara's three dogs reminded me of something out of Calvin and Hobbs. She has several horses including a few retired race horses. Elvis was the most endearing. Elvis is thirty years old! That's incredibly old for a horse. He has no back teeth and will follow you around like a dog. However, upon getting to know Elvis better, it seems he follows you around because he likes having his privates scratched. No joke. Apparently the flies like to bite the soft skin there and it's difficult to swat one's underside with a tail located on the backside.

I hope very much to be able to make a return visit with the kids. Kirk will get lost in the woods for several days, Dani would move in with the horses, and Jake would probaby play video games, doing his best to avoid the chickens who believe the farm belongs to them.

Dave's Graduation Day

The graduation was split into two parts. First was the lawn ceremony where graduates receive thier degree. This ceremony was all the graduates and their families together. Unfortunately it rained so I had the view above.

Following the lawn ceremony was the diploma ceremony. Mom and Dad went ahead to save seats. It's a good thing they did because it was moved from the front of the law school to one of the gyms after it rained. It was hot and packed!

That evening, we had a barbecue with Dave's fellow LDS graduates